17 die of Kala-azar

By a Post Reporter

GAIGHAT, May 22 - Seventeen people have died of Kala-azar in Gaighat Bazaar over the past one week.

Hundreds of others have been affected by the disease after it hit the municipality area. The epidemic has been spreading in the area since the past two weeks. Ward Chairman Tara Kant Chaudhari told The Kathmandu Post that one man died at ward No 1, 10 people died at Ward No 9 and 6 died at ward No 10.

The municipality has informed that it has started a campaign of spraying medicines to control the disease.

Oppn parties flay government policies

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, May 22 - The opposition parties today came down heavily on the government criticizing the programme and policy it presented last week.

All the parties in the opposition presented proposals seeking to amend the programme and policies.

In the amendment proposal filed by the main opposition CPN-UML, its General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal said that the government had failed to live upto expectations and had failed to assure peace and security in the nation.

The eight pages proposal with 53 different points seeking amendments, the party condemned the government’s failure to commit and clearly specify the programmes that are meant for poverty alleviation, employment and revenue.

Taking part in the first day of debate on the government policies, General Secretary Nepal said the programmes and policies were mere formality only.

"This was just a formality. Actually it did not even meet the formalities," Nepal said. "The document should have included the experiences and lessons gathered in the past 10 years."

He said that the documents had mentioned about meeting the challenges of the new millennium but has no programmes of how it planned to meet the challenges.

"NC and the parties in the opposition had just reached agreements on certain issues but this document does not reflect any of those understandings," he said.

In the amendment proposal, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP)’s Pashupati Sumshere Rana said it was deplorable that the government had failed to commit security to the people.

He also said the document had no mention of implementing important hydro electricity projects in the country.

He also pointed out that the government had no programmes to aid the people fleeing from rebel attacks and have been forced to live the life of refugees in their own country.

NPF’s Chitra Bahadur K.C. in a 37- point amendment proposal criticized the government for not mentioning anything about resolving the Maoists issue through political approach and failing to meet the agreement reached between the government and the nine leftist groups.

Nepal Sadbhavana Party’s Hridesh Tripathi said that the document had no attempts to resolve the issue of citizenship of millions of people.

The debate will continue for the next four days and will be followed by answers to the questions raised by the prime minister.

Call to ratify power trade deal

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, May 22 - The parliament should ratify the electric power trade agreement reached between Nepal and India three years ago by a simple majority to speed up the development process of hydro-power sector, energy experts and lawyers said here today.

Though the agreement was reached on June 5, 1997, it has not been ratified by the parliament. The agreement is under discussion in the on-going 18th session of parliament.

Speaking at an interaction programme, jointly organized by Association for Water Resources Development and Agriculture Projects Services Centre (APROSC) here today, lawyers and hydro-power experts were unanimous that the parliament should ratify the agreement by a simple majority.

"The parliament should ratify the agreement with a simple majority," said Madhav Poudel, Training in-charge of Legal Service Training Service. Added a majority of other speakers, "The agreement will not get through the parliament if we start seeking two-third majority to ratify this agreement."

The reactions came after Hiranya Lal Shrestha, CPN-ML leader and former chairman of parliamentary committee on human rights and foreign affairs, and Ratna Sankar Shrestha of Winrock International, stressed that the agreement should be looked upon in light of natural resource sharing and down stream benefits with India.

Earlier in the programme, Shrestha had called on to "evolve consensus only after reviewing and revising" the watershed agreement, pointing out the need to ratify the agreement by a two-third majority in the parliament as provided for in Article 126 (ii) of the Constitution of Nepal 1990.

In the agreement, the two governments inter alia have agreed to allow any party, in Nepal or India, for power trade between Nepal and India irrespective of such parties being governmental, semi-governmental or private enterprise.

The agreement also states that "the parties entering into such an agreement for power trade shall be afforded all necessary assistance by respective governments, in accordance with the laws and regulations of respective countries for conduct of surveys including field investigations and for construction, installation, operation and maintenance of facilities required for generation and transmission of power in the territories of both countries, required for such power trading."

The non-ratification of the agreement has been a stumbling block in the development of hydro-electricity project in the country, experts said today, referring to the 750 MW West Seti project.

Five years have passed since the government gave permission to Snowy Mountain Energy Corp, a Australian company, to carry out survey works. But still the project’s Power Purchase Agreement has not been signed.

Bastola heads for Thimpu Optimistic about refugee talks

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, May 22 - In a latest bid to resolve the long festering Bhutanese refugee problem Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola left for Thimpu, Bhutan today for a four-day visit.

However, prior to his departure, Foreign Minister Bastola said that he was optimistic this time around since the international pressure is building up against the Druk Kingdom.

"I am optimistic on the ground that there is now some real international pressure building on them (Bhutanese) to resolve the refugee crisis," Bastola told reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport. "Recent visit of Madam Ogata (Sadako Ogata, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and what they (Bhutanese government) told the media are indicators of the pressure on them."

He said the growing international awareness on the crisis and also the globally evolving human rights movement have given impetus to efforts for resolution of the problem. "Initially it was only we were striving for solution but the whole scenario has changed now and they too don’t want to linger the problem."

Bastola, however, expressed pessimism over the "lack of political will" on the part of his Druk counterparts. "Greatest hinderance to resolving the issue is their insistence on the resolving mechanism which is never backed by necessary political will," said Bastola.

"I have always found the Bhutanese approach very obscure," he said. "Take for instance their insistence on categorisation. What is the significance of three categories for the Bhutanese refugees? All of them are Bhutanese nationals who have every right to return to their native land. And what is this fuss about verification process since about 95 percent of the refugees hold genuine Bhutanese citizenship certificates?"

Bastola, was himself a part of the Nepalese delegation during the first round of Joint Ministerial Level Committee (JMLC) meeting which agreed to categorise the refugees in 1993. Bastola was then the Royal Nepalese Ambassador to Bhutan and India.

The two foreign ministers are meeting after eight months. The 8th round of JMLC took place in September last year in Nepal after which two rounds of secretarial level meeting have taken place.

Justifying the secretarial level meeting, the Foreign Ministry had said that the 9th round of the JMLC would be the beginning of the end of the problem and the two secretaries were preparing groundwork for the ministerial level meeting and to work on the modalities of the verification of refugees.

Bhutan had for the first time conceded to go ahead with the field verification during the eighth round of talks. However, the talks were inconclusive as the two sides could not agree on the modality of the verification process.

However, foreign policy analysts point out that it is too early to be optimistic about Bhutan’s good intentions as the Druk government has "never been conducive to resolving the stalemate except for showing disingenuous diplomatic niceties."

A seven member Bhutanese refugee team from Jhapa also met Bastola yesterday and submitted a memorandum urging him to concentrate his talks on the immediate repatriation of all the refugees to their original land holdings with guarantee of full restitution of their property upon repatriation.

They also appealed him to make sure that the verification is accomplished on an impartial basis and the repatriation takes place with the UNHCR’s involvement.

The delegates from AHURA Bhutan, a Bhutanese human rights organisation, also submitted a copy of a CD-ROM containing detailed information regarding refugees covering more than 50 percent of the refugee population.

Foreign Minister Bastola is returning on May 25.

HRC meet ends inconclusively

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, May 22 - Although the much delayed meeting of the committee to recommend the names of the candidates for the Human Rights Commission (HRC) took place today, the meeting ended inconclusively.

According to a source, the three-member Recommendation Committee (RC) comprising the prime minister, chief justice and leader of the main opposition party, will decide in few days. "They have already started discussions on the issue," he said.

"The persons who are to be recommended should be asked beforehand," said the source close to the Committee. "The meeting has already decided some names but will only recommend them after asking the concerned people," he added.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had assured that he would hold the meeting of RC before the announcement of the government’s programmes and policies in the Parliament. The meeting was delayed due to Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya’s visit to Bangladesh in the same period.

Tamils nabbed

KATHMANDU, May 22 (PR) - The immigration office on Saturday detained seven Tamils in Kodari upon suspicion of holding a fake passport. According to a source at the Immigration Department, the seven Tamils who hold Indian passports are suspected to be Sri Lankan nationals. The seven were detained after the Department of Immigration (DoI) and the National Investigation Department (NID) were tipped-off about their identity. The seven are being interrogated by DoI and NID. According to the source, the seven claim that they are Indians and were on the way to Kailash Mansorovar. The source said, the officials detained them since they don’t look like Indians.

Two killed in landslide

By a Post Reporter

SURKHET, May 22 - Two workers of the Mehelkuna Irrigation channel died due to a landslide here yesterday.

Laxmi BK of Mehelkuna Village Development Committee-4 and Chhetra Bahadur BK of Velawa VDC of Bardiya, both labourers at the channel construction works, died on the spot after a sudden landslide buried them while they went in to the canal to take a slipper that one of them had dropped while they were coming out of the channel.

Nepal-bound microbuses parked in Tibet

A Convoy of microbus in Khasa area preparing to enter Nepal

TATOPANI, Sindhupalchok, May 22 (PR) - Dozens of Nepal-bound diesel-run Chinese micro-buses have currently been kept parked at Tibetan Autonomous Region of China’s Khasa (Zangmo) bazaar. According to Department of Transport Management the 19-seaters will be allowed to ply the streets of the capital city after three months when the vehicle’s owners will convert the diesel-run vehicles into LPG gas-run ones. The micro-buses are known to have been imported by Nepali entrepreneurs in line with the government’s decision to replace the capital’s Vikram tempos, which were banned last September, with environment-friendly ones.

Chidimars are on the verge of extinction

By J Pandey

BANKE, May 22 - It’s not yet 5 in the morning and still dark when a group of bird hunters (chidimars) start trickling into the nearby forest in quest of preying the sleeping birds.

And they say hunting is only lucrative when you hunt wild animals. But for Mayaram, bird hunting has been the only means to eke out his living - a profession which his forefathers left at the behest of their successors - only to keep their age-old profession intact.

Mayaram, with his 15-member family at Shamshergunj-7, works untiringly only to meet his customers’ demands. But not all kinds of birds are killed as there is far less number of big-pocket customers.

Says he: " The customers mostly throng to my place mainly during winters for bagedis and baters (the bird species) for they believe the meat meets their desire most."

Mayaram, a member of the hunting community, started servicing his selected customers two decades ago. The spiritual side of him was evident even during in early years.

The bird hunters, who live in small hamlets in Banke, are said to have migrated from northern India where they once used to serve for the landlords in the erstwhile princely Indian states. But with the change in time, the chidimars’ ethnic identity has now come under the verge of extinction as they can no longer afford to sustain in the given circumstances. Interestingly, there has been no preliminary study and research regarding the dying state of this indigenous community.

"With just Rs, 10/20 - 100/120 a day, it’s very hard for us to make our both ends meet," laments Mayaram with a note of aspiration for alternative sources of income generating activities. Given the going getting tough, more and more of these hunters are fast switching themselves to other kinds of menial jobs in the surrounding sub-urban areas.

A case in point: The chidimars of Belaspur of Nepalgunj municipality have finally bid adieu to their traditional occupation and taken to as rickshaw-pullers and small street vendors. And of late, added to their misery is the tough time to sell themselves in the competitive market.

However, in recent days, the chidimar community has heaved a sigh of relief as some non-governmental organizations have given them a respite through training on skill enhancement activities. And consequently, for some, the bird hunting has just been a pastime rather than the profession.

But Mayaram isn’t at all what he appears to be. The enterprising Mayaram in his simple and saintly way plays down any questions regarding why he is still carrying out the same activity despite living in abject poverty. He replies, "Since the God has given birth to us, He will keep us alive unless we do otherwise."

Indeed, he represents the highest a bird seller can do, for, at least, buyers (who mainly come from Nepalgunj) have never come back dissatisfied from his dingy shop.

SC issues show cause notice

By Post Reporters

KATHMANDU, May 22 - The Supreme Court has issued a show cause notice to Mahendranagar Municipality which recently announced ban on polythene bags in the municipality area and Kanchanpur district in the country’s far-western Terai, setting a deadline of seven days to discuss on the interim order. In an environmentally conscious move, the municipality two months ago announced ban on the use and sale of polythene bags from April 13.

According to a press release received here today, a single bench apex court of Justice Rajendra Raj Nakhwa of the Supreme Court on Friday issued the order, stating that the move was an "unconstitutional one" and was "against the constitution’s articles 11(1), 12(2) and 17(1)". The court also ruled that the ban move was against the sentiment of other laws--as the Industrial Business Act 2049 BS (1993). Senior advocate Madhu Prasad Sharma, advocate Sarad Prasad Koirala, advocate Badri Prasad Bhandari and advocate Gopal Prasad Aryal had pleaded on behalf of Nepal Plastics Manufactures’ Association and Bhuwan Pulami, a plastic seller, who had filed a writ petition at the court.

Changes sought in Trade Union Act

KATHMANDU, May 22 - Confederation of Nepalese Professionals (CONEP) today stressed on the amendment on the Trade Union Act to encompass and secure the trade union rights of professionals from all spheres of the society. This observation was made at an interaction programme on the current status of Trade Union Movement, prevailing laws and the necessary reforms organised by CONEP marking its sixth Anniversary.

"CONCEP should take the leadership in securing the trade union rights of professionals from all walks of life," said CONEP Chairperson Prof. Harsha Narayan Dhaubadel. Participants also decided to promote CONEP to the status of national level trade union to include those professionals who were not affiliated with trade union activists. Currently there are 11 national level professional organisations affiliated with CONEP.

Refugees take out procession

BIRTAMOD, May 22 - Hundreds of Bhutanese refugees took out a peaceful procession protesting against what they said the delay in getting official recognition as refugees here yesterday. These Bhutanese are yet to be registered as refugees by the screening post. The procession, including women and children, however, was stopped at Muktichowk by the police.

Tekbir Rai, who was leading the huge procession told The Kathmandu Post that the "police suggested" them to stage a sit-in at the premises of Refugee Coordination Unit and United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) offices both at Bhadrapur.

"We are planning to demonstrate in front of those offices in Bhadrapur," said Rai. Evicted from Bhutan more then ten years back, these yet-to-be-registered refugees, residing in the seven camps at Jhapa and Morang, number 1200, claimed Rai. These refugees have also formed a group named "Yet-to-be-registered Refugee Group". Earlier, the organization had submitted a memorandum to UNHCR High Commissioner Sadako Ogata on their plight.